The Horton Wreath Society is gearing up once again to adorn every gravesite and columbarium marker at the Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery this year, and there is still time to get involved in this effort to honor deceased veterans and turn the cemetery into one of the most beautiful Christmas displays in Hampton Roads.

The society will hold its annual wreath-laying ceremony at the veterans’ cemetery on Dec. 16. Approximately 8,300 wreaths will be placed at gravesites and columbarium rows this year by families, Scouts, military servicemen and servicewomen and more, according to Horton Wreath Society Public Affairs Officer Donn Zwirn.

The Horton Wreath Society has been conducting the event every year since 2008. The society works all year long to raise money to purchase enough fresh evergreen wreaths for the Christmas season, each adorned with a red bow.

The number of wreaths grows every year, with more than 7,200 placed last year, Zwirn said. The society is able to afford more wreaths every year thanks to donors.

The formal ceremony will begin at 9 a.m., and military families will place their own, personal wreaths for loved ones at 9:30 a.m. General wreath laying will begin at 10 a.m. Last year, all the wreaths were placed in less than two hours.

By the end of the event, the cemetery is transformed into a sprawling thing of beauty, and those who participate always leave with the warm feeling of having contributed something significant to the memory of those who have served to protect the freedom of this great nation.

To volunteer or make a donation, visit hortonwreathsociety.webs.com.